1 month UPDATE - Oct 27, 2009 - Seville, Andalucia, Spain

Dear Friends,

I´ve been living in España ONE MONTH. Luckily the jet lag has faded (Spain is 8 hours ahead of Colorado) & my life here finally seems like reality. So what does Hayley do in the little town of Castilblanco?

SCHOOL:

On T, W, & Th I go to the high school to sit in on English classes & talk to the students. Nearly every student I pass says, "Hay-ley" or "Hello" or tries to throw some English in my direction. When I do class presentations I am inevitably asked "Do you have boyfriend?" & "Your brother is handsome?" (Ohhh high school.) At recess the students often crowd around me & want to hear me say things in English.. (Side note: It has been odd walking around town & hearing students yell my name from afar..) Aside from the students, I also have set English dates with a few teachers. The faculty at this school are crazy fun people -- I went to a "work lunch" last Friday i.e. get drunk with coworkers, take ridiculous pictures, & ask prying questions about eachothers´ romantic lives..

Last week I sat-in on a music class & the teacher, Nacho, asked me to accompany on the electric piano while the class sang solfege & he used up CLASS TIME to listen to me play all the piano songs I know! The kids were thoroughly entertained & news quickly spread around town that I play piano (I was informed by a bartender the next day)..

Speaking of music, today I gave presentations on Halloween & the English teacher asked me to sing a Halloween song, which I did. Afterward at recess kids were crowding around me, requesting me to sing (I politefully declined.) It seems Hayley didn´t come to Spain to teach English; Hayley came to ENTERTAIN.

Other than speaking English & singing for high schoolers, I spend a lot of time making colorful posters in English. Tomorrow at school I will sit-in on my first FRENCH class (I want to learn un poco..)

EXTRACURRICULARS:

Luckily my host-sister, Espe, invites me to all of her events with friends. Meaning I have gone to bars (I can´t drink too much or else my Spanish & understanding goes out the window!), karaoke, dinners, board game nights, a Flamenco show, & movies. I also hang out a lot with Espe´s best friend, Portu. Despite being gay, Portu says we are going to get married & visit Colorado..

My new extracurricular is a swim class that meets 3X week, 10pm - 11pm. (Late, I know - it´s the Spanish way.) I carpool with a bunch of thirty year-old men, try to understand their gossip in Spanish, & then try to understand swimming instructions at the pool. Most days I am the only girl in a class of 15 men -- awkward -- yet I appreciate the endorphins.

ENGLISH LESSONS:

Today was my FIRST EVER English lesson! My "pupil" is a 15 year-old boy named Carlos (I am pretty confident his mom MADE him take lessons). I was initially nervous about giving lessons but figured I just needed to listen & talk to the kid in English. Now after one class I can say that Carlos is fun to talk to & cute, which always helps (don´t worry, I won´t go robbing the cradle.)

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Party animal teachers + curious students + socializing with Espe + Spanish swimming + English lessons = asi es mi vida = that´s my life!!